Some Consequences of Operation Schmelt
2,414 RecordsHolocaust · Women · Forced Laborers · Prisoners · Europe (multiple)
Introduction by Bernard Robinson
BackgroundOn October 31, 1940, SS-Oberfuhrer Albrecht Schmelt was appointed “Special Emissary of the Reichfuhrer-SS and Chief of German Police for the Employment of Foreign Nationals in Upper Silesia (Sosnowitz)”. His goal was to create forced labor camps where Jews would be required to work as unpaid laborers for the German military. Jews were not permitted to work for public or private organizations and had to register citing their work abilities.
A more detailed timeline and description of what took place over the life of several of these camps may be found in Mr. Robinson’s book, Some Consequences of Operation Schmelt. A copy of the book is available at the The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, MI (please see the Acknowledgements section below).
Database
This database includes 2,414 women who were forced laborers during World War II in the Gruenberg and Neusalz concentration camps, as well as several other camps. The work describes the camps, and a forced 400 km death march which ended for those who survived the march, in Volary, Czechoslovakia for some and Bergen Belsen for the others. The work was carefully researched and documented by Mr. Bernard Robinson, in memory of his wife, Amalie Mary Reichmann-Robinson, of Bielitz Biala, who was one of the Gruenberg forced laborers.
Below are the individual lists created by Mr. Robinson. For those that are in German, the translation is below the German. The page numbers from 1 through 45 refer to Mr. Robinson’s book, Some Consequences of ‘Organization Schmelt’.
The Individual Lists — German / English
| List | Pages | Description |
|---|---|---|
| List 1 | 1 - 4 | Teilweise Namenliste der Haftlinge aus FAL Gruschwiitz-Grunberg und FAL Bolkenhain. Ausserlagern KL Gross Rosen. |
| Partial list of names of prisoners from FAL Gruschwitz-Grünberg and FAL Bolkenhain. Subcamps KL Gross Rosen. | ||
| List 2 | 5 - 15 | Namenliste der Haftlinge aus FAL Neusalz Ausserlager KL Gross Rosen. Ankommend in FAL Zwodau. Ausserlager KL Flossenburg (08-Mar-1945) |
| List of names of prisoners from FAL Neusalz subcamp KL Gross Rosen. Arriving at FAL Zwodau. Subcamp KL Flossenburg (08-Mar-1945) | ||
| List 3 | 16 - 23 | Namenliste der Haftlinge aus FAL Grunberg Ausserlager KL Gross Rosen. Ankommend in FAL Helmbrechts Ausserlager KL Flossenburg (06-Mar-1945) |
| List of names of prisoners from FAL Grunberg subcamp KL Gross Rosen. Arriving at FAL Helmbrechts subcamp KL Flossenburg (06-Mar-1945) | ||
| List 4 | 24 - 30 | Namenliste der Haftlinge aus Schanzenbau FAL Schlesiersee I und II Ausserlager KL Gross Rosen. Ankommend in FAL Helmbrechts Ausserlager KL Flossenburg (06-Mar-1945) |
| Name list of prisoners from the FAL Schlesiersee I and II out-camp KL Gross Rosen. Arriving at FAL Helmbrechts out-camp KL Flossenburg (06-Mar-1945) | ||
| List 5 | 31 - 33 | Namenliste der Haftlinge aus FAL Frieburg Ausserlager KL Gross Rosen. Ankommend in FAL Zwodau Ausserlager KL Flossenburg (26-Feb-1945) |
| List of names of prisoners from FAL Freiburg subcamp KL Gross Rosen. Arriving at FAL Zwodau subcamp KL Flossenburg (26-Feb-1945) | ||
| List 6 | 34 | FAL Gundeldorf Prisoners - Death March to Volary/Prachatice |
| List 7 | 35 | German Women Political Prisoners FAL Helmbrechts (Ausserlager KL Flossenburg) Death March to Prachatice (13-Apr-1945 to 06-May-1945) |
| List 8 | 36 | Schlesiersee & DWM Prisoners Who Died in FAL Helmbrechts (06-Mar-1945 to 03-Apr-1945) |
| List 8 | 37 | Zwodau Prisoners - Vogtland Transport, Died in Zwodau |
| List 9 | 44 - 45 | List of Jewish Girls Murdered in the Volary Area and Buried in Marked Graves |
The fields in the database are as follows:
Acknowledgements
The information contained in this database comes from the book, Some Consequences of ‘Operation Schmelt’ written by Bernard Robinson in memory of his wife. The book was made available to JewishGen courtesy of The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, MI. For additional information on this and other Holocaust materials, visit their website at holocaustcenter.org.
Thank you to Nolan Altman, Director of Special Projects and Coordinator of the Holocaust Database, for his continued devotion and dedication to JewishGen’s important work.
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